Family Portrait
by Jaimie-Erin
Summary: Death is not the only thing that can take a wife from her husband, a mother from her children, a queen from her country. My take on what happened to Legolas’ mother.
1. Chapter 1

**Family Portrait**

By

**Jaimie-Erin**

**Rating**: T for suicide themes, though since you have obviously read/seen Lord of the Rings, that shouldn't put you off. Remember Denethor? And I got no parents killing kids… yuck… anyway, my point is read!

**Summary**: Death is not the only thing that can take a wife from her husband, a mother from her children, a queen from her country. My take on what happened to Legolas' mother.

**Disclaimer**: Only saying it once, nothing is mine but the OCs.

**Dedication**: To my friend Steph, and to every person out there who has been through or is going through this.

**A/N**: Legolas is around 15 in human years in this story, and Herenya is 17. I have no idea of the aging process of elves, so I'm not even going to try.

X X X X

King Thranduil Oropherion sat on a chair on his balcony, deep in thought. They were not bad thoughts. Nay, his mood reflected the weather: bright, sunny and cheerful, with a couple of white wisps of cloud that only added to the scenery. The birds and the trees sang, and it was all he could do to keep his dignity and refrain from leaping off his chair to join them in song.

Today, life was good. It was his six hundredth anniversary with his wife Melda today. One week ago today it had been his daughter Herenya's birthday, and one month from today was his son Legolas'.

And there had not been any orc sightings near the palace for three months today.

Ordinarily, he may have been worried by this. He may have thought that the orcs had finally managed to slip past his patrols, and may be plotting an assault on the palace. But as he looked over his shoulder, past the open bedroom door to his wife, he remembered just how thorough his patrols were, and all worries fled from his mind.

Melda yawned and stretched. Thranduil smiled and walked back inside.

"Happy anniversary, meleth nin," (my love) he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing his wife's shoulder.

Melda smiled as she gazed sleepily up at Thranduil. "How long has it been?" she asked.

Thranduil smiled for what must have been the hundredth time that morning. He had always been the more romantic of the two; he was the one who had noticed the strange arrangement of celebrations around their anniversary, he was the one who could not sleep the night before the anniversary, and he was the one who counted the years they had been together. "Six hundred years today," he said quietly in answer to her question.

Melda's smile grew and she pulled her husband down onto the bed for a kiss. When they broke apart, she sat up, and by some mutual decision made their way to the family dining room for breakfast.

The two children were already sitting at the dining table, though breakfast had not been served and neither were eating. Herenya was older than Legolas, and was very different to her brother. She was the heir to the throne, but had had to fight for it. Many of Thranduil's older councilors did not want a woman to rule them, when Thranduil left Middle-earth. The king had helped Herenya fight them, for as he had pointed out, it was not her fault she had been born a girl. She was a skilled leader and far more interested than Legolas in ruling over Mirkwood, and at her young age she already had many powerful people in many elven realms wrapped around her little finger.

But she did not look it. Now, slouching on a chair with her bare feet up on the table and her fingers picking idly at a hole in her oversized shirt, while unbrushed, dark brown hair stuck out from her head at odd angles, one would think her a beggar's daughter, not the heir to the throne of Mirkwood.

Legolas was the one who looked more like a prince. He never came out of his bedroom still in his nightclothes, and his hair, blonde and perfectly straight like his father's, never went unbrushed for too long. He acted the prince, too, around company. He was always polite and diplomatic, but was far more interested in singing to the stars than ruling a country. In truth, he only really acted like a prince because he knew how Mirkwood's economy would suffer if he did not. Herenya didn't. She was brilliant in some things, but woeful at others, for example, how much her appearance affected her father's reputation. Thranduil had tried explaining it to her, but, well, Ren was just an idiot.

"Happy anniversary!" Legolas called happily as his parents entered the room. Herenya gave a little start, quickly pulled her feet off the table and muttered a hasty "happy anniversary" under her breath. Legolas smirked at her; he knew she had forgotten.

Neither Thranduil nor Melda seemed to notice, though. Melda seemed to glow with happiness as she laughed and joked with her family over breakfast. Thranduil barely ate or spoke. He just sat in his seat and stared at his wife.

"Where are we going this year?" Herenya asked. Each year, on Thranduil and Melda's anniversary, they took a family trip somewhere. When the children had been younger, they would often go far away, sometimes to as far as Lothlorien. Now, with the advancement of the Shadow from Dol Guldur and Herenya's coming of age approaching, where she would join the courts, there was little time available to them, and most family outings were trips just outside of the palace's north gate.

"We said last night," said Melda tersely. "Weren't you listening?"

"No," said Herenya without embarrasment.

Melda gave an exasperated sigh. "We're only going to that clearing a mile away," she said. "In fact, we should probably be getting ready." She eyed her daughter's tattered nightclothes.

"I have to pack... something," said Legolas. He always gave his parents an anniversary present while on their trip. After so many years an a rise in maturity, he didn't bother concealing it.

"I'll just go get dressed," Ren muttered, and she and Legolas went back to their rooms together.

"You have lovely children," Thranduil said. "Amin mela lle." (I love you)

Melda blushed a little at the look of pure devotion her husband was giving her. "I'll go pack our coats," she whispered.

She walked out of the room, leaving Thranduil alone to his pleasant thoughts.

X X X X

"Where on Arda is she?" Legolas muttered. He had long since exhausted trying to imitate a bird, and he and Ren had already had a wrestling match in the leaves of the sunny courtyard. But still, Melda did not show.

Thranduil glanced nervously into the sky. At least three quarters of an hour had passed since Melda had said she was going to get coats. He hoped that, whatever was holding her up, it wasn't an angry citizen wanting to see him in the courts. This was his day for his family.

"Do you want me to find her?" Legolas asked his father.

"No," said Thranduil, "I'll do that myself. Valar, it's usually Ren we have to wait for..."

He walked back into the palace, muttering a little. Ren came over to join Legolas. "He did _not _just say that."

"You know it's true," said Legolas. He punched his sister on the arm playfully, and she punched him back. Their relationship was fairly love-hate, and they thrived off rude words and fights. They had also developed lightning fast reflexes from having to stop fights as soon as one of their parents came into the room.

X X X X

Thranduil walked back towards his room. He was worried. Had some dignitary arrived? Was Melda trying to do what she could to resolve the issue without having to pull their trip off? It had happened often enough, especially in the last decade or so. Valar, he hated it when that happened!

He came to the royal family's personal wing of the palace. He walked down the corridors, memories following him like sheep following their shepherd. That was where Legolas had shot an arrow directly through the eye of the subject of a three thousand year old painting. Thranduil had pretended to be mad so he could discipline the elfling, but inside he had been bursting with pride that his son - his own son - had aim to rival most of his soldiers. That was where Herenya had gotten scared by the sudden greeting of a servant girl standing right behind her. She had thought she was under attack, had reached out and flipped the poor girl onto her back. It was then that Thranduil had realized that his daughter possessed the upper body strength of a grown elf. That was where he and Melda had shared their first kiss...

He approached his bedroom door and saw that it was shut. Why would it be shut? He hadn't shut it. Melda might have, but she never shut it. She believed it should be open to all, as any who they trusted enough to allow in this private wing of the palace, they trusted enough to be in their bedroom. It was only shut when they slept.

Thranduil reached out and turned the doorknob.

X X X X

"Don't you reckon that cloud looks like a rabbit?"

Legolas rolled his eyes. "I don't really care."

"Why not?" said Ren in a purposely whiny voice.

"Because cloud gazing is stupid. It's for little girls."

"You stargaze."

"That is different," said Legolas with as much dignity as he could muster. "Stargazing is part of our way of life. You stargaze too. But I won't say that a giant white bit of fluff looks like a delicious, succulent rabbit."

"You don't appreciate animals," said Ren, still playfully acting like an elfling.

"I do," said Legolas. "I appreciate them cooked to perfection, the brown, juicy meat in my mouth, seasoned with just the right amount of herbs to bring out the taste..."

"You are disgusting."

Legolas shrugged. He was disgusting himself, if he were honest, but it was too funny to lay off. He knew Ren hated eating rabbits, or, in her words, "things that bounced".

Ren went back to cloud gazing, and Legolas turned back to the palace. Nobody. This was ridiculous. His father had probably been right. There probably had been some foreign dignitary come to ruin the day...

"I'm going to find them," he said to Ren.

"Okay."

He went back into the palace, heading for the wing in which they lived by the fastest route possible. He wanted to leave! How hard could it be to go on a picnic?

He saw his father standing in the middle of the corridor alone. A sudden feeling of foreboding crept over Legolas, and he knew not all was well. His steps slowed of their own accord, but did not stop; and as he got closer, he realized his adar was crying.

Legolas stopped, not saying a word. Thranduil looked up, very slowly, at his son. "We're not going for a picnic today," he said.

X X X X

**A/N**: I've gone and done the unthinkable: posted a second story. I don't mind other authors doing that, but I don't like doing it myself.

This was a fic specially written for Steph, for those of you who've read my other fic, this is the one I spent all that time writing for her. It's not completely finished, but I've ot a few chapters up my sleeve. And I won't abandon either story.

Anyone guess what happened to Melda?

Reviews make me upload faster.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: This has been a while coming, and I'm really sorry for the wait. I was sick for a while, and though I've already done a fair lot of chapters for this, I wanted to update my other fic first, as that is my first one that I started. Now I've written that, but it seems my beta is having a busy time, and I couldn't possibly add to her workload more without being very guilty, and besides, what if she doesn't like this fic? That's all good, but not if you're a beta. So who wants to beta this story? Any takers?

X X X X

Legolas' mind reeled. What had happened? Why was Ada crying? Why was the picnic cancelled? Where – Legolas swallowed hard – where was Naneth?

His eyes flickered up towards his parents' room briefly before he fixed an unwavering look upon his father. "What happened?"

Thranduil gave a little choke, but didn't answer. Legolas became more fearful. He had never seen his father lose control like this before. The king slid slowly down the wall and landed hard on the ground. He put his face in his hands and sobbed.

To say Legolas was tense was an understatement. Something had happened to his nana. Had she fallen from the balcony? With a superhuman effort, Legolas banished the image of Melda, lying bruised and broken in a pool of her own blood in the gardens. He had to find out what had happened, and clearly, Thranduil was in no state to tell.

Legolas began walking with leaden steps towards his parents' room. Before he got there, the door was opened with vicious force, and Melda strode out of the room.

Relief hit Legolas so powerfully that for a moment he felt light-headed. But as Melda reached him, she ignored his smiling face and his arms which were outstretched for a hug. Without stopping, her arms came up and slammed into her son's chest, throwing him into the wall. Melda continued walking, paying no attention to her sobbing husband.

Legolas coughed. His mother was quite strong and the impact with the wall had knocked the air out of his lungs. But what hurt far more was the fact that his naneth – his own _naneth _– had just pushed him into a wall without even a second glance. He wondered what she had done to Thranduil, and most of all, why.

He heard noises coming from the room his mother had just vacated. They were quiet, but definitely there. Legolas was certain of it – somebody else was in that room.

He stood up and covered the remaining distance to the door. He looked in and froze.

Traius, one of the peasants from the outlying towns, was sitting on his parents' bed, shirtless. He was pulling on his boots, but stopped and looked up when he sensed another presence in the room. He smiled wickedly when he saw Legolas.

"Well, little prince," he drawled, "I am guessing you know why your father has turned into a blubbering wimp, your mother hates you, and I am here, sitting in your father's usurped territory?"

Legolas blinked and tried to stop all the pieces of the puzzle from fitting together in his mind. "No," he said. "I won't believe it."

Traius shrugged. "Suit yourself." He finished with his boots and pulled on a shirt. Finished, he sauntered over to the door, and ruffled Legolas' hair playfully. The younger elf slapped his hand away. "I wouldn't want to touch your hair anyway," the peasant said mockingly. "Too much like your father's." He left, laughing softly.

Legolas' eyes followed him out. He was scared. Had his mother really betrayed him like that? Betrayed Ren? Betrayed his father?

Slowly, he forced his legs to move. He felt like none of this was real, like he was walking in a dream. But he knew that this nightmare had become his life. He stopped when he reached Thranduil and sat next to his adar, who was still crying quietly. Legolas raised his arms to hug him, and Thranduil leant into his son's embrace, sobbing brokenly. After what might have been years, they broke apart. Both had tear tracks running down their faces, but neither at this moment cared.

"I should tell Ren," Legolas said quietly.

Thranduil just nodded. He would prefer to sit here and cry for another few hours with his son, but he knew his daughter needed to be told that they were not going for a picnic. She needed to be told what her mother had done.

Legolas stood and walked slowly through the palace, eyes fixed on his feet. He could feel the strange looks from the servants boring into his back, he could almost hear the gossip created by his disheveled appearance. He didn't want this attention, didn't need it… he had only just lost his mother, to some _peasant_!

He stopped himself, unconsciously wiping the new tears from his face. He had never and would never discriminate against the less fortunate people of society. He would only discriminate against less fortunate people who owned a farm, had the most sickening brownish hair colour and were named Traius.

But he was not the only one at fault here. His own naneth had thrown him into the wall like he meant nothing. She had betrayed her husband on their wedding anniversary. Legolas remembered her joyful smile that had been present at breakfast, her loving manner. She just seemed so… her. But what an amazing lie that was. Melda. It used to be a name that meant the world to him. It meant love. It meant security and safety. And it meant _stability_. If that could vanish, what else in his life had an unanticipated expiry date?

He reached the great doors he had entered what must have been an hour ago. One hour. One hour could change the world. One hour _had _changed the world.

For the third time that morning, he felt tears welling up in his eyes. He had never known anything to hurt as much as this did. He didn't usually cry; he didn't like to show weakness. But what did strength matter when the one who had been that strength for so many years betrayed you?

He stopped suddenly when he saw something on the grass. Typical. Ren had fallen asleep. She looked so peaceful. The ghost of a smile was upon her face, and Legolas wondered if she were dreaming of the day she thought she was going to have. How could he rip that away from her?

He was saved the difficult choice of whether to wake her when she stirred suddenly and her eyes focused. Typical Ren, Legolas thought as she caught sight of his grief-stricken face. She had no clue as to what was going on, but she thought of others' comfort before her own burning curiosity. _She must be suffering terribly_, Legolas thought.

He pushed her away. She looked confused and opened her mouth to ask a question, but he cut her off. "Ada saw Nana kissing Traius." There. He had said it. And the moment the words left his mouth, he knew how stupid they sounded. Such a great issue should not be talked about so rudely.

Ren froze. "You aren't joking, are you?" she asked. Legolas shook his head silently. Herenya looked at the ground and nodded slowly, then turned and headed slowly into the palace.

X X X X

**A/N**: Stupid place to end, I know, but it seemed a good place to break it. If not here, it would have been a good deal longer.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I responded to everyone except Steph (who I thanked at school), and Linn, who were anonymous. But your comments still mean so much, please keep them coming!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Sigh. You'll never believe it. We got evicted. The people who own our house were told by the banks that since they can't pay the mortgage they have to sell our place or (virtually) die. We're putting in a VERY small bid for the place, since you never know, but we can't afford anything serious, so I've been flat out cleaning this place for inspectors. Growl.

Thanks heaps, again, for reviews. I responded to everyone except , who was anonymous, but thanks heaps!

Oh, and I thought I might add, since I've forgotten to before, THIS IS AU! I don't think this happened at all.

Anyway, on with the chapter.

X X X X

Legolas lay in bed, still unable to sleep. His parents' room was right next to his own, and as they seemed to have forgotten to shut the door, he could hear everything. The insults, names, wishes for divorce…

He was lying on his side, facing the wall. His right arm was entwined in the blanket, holding it half above his head, trying to block out the sounds; while his left arm was holding something he had not held in many years: a small, stuffed blue mouse that he had creatively named "Mousey" as an elfling. Mousey was clutched tightly against his face, drying the tears that fell in small rivers from his eyes while leaving enough room to breathe.

He winced as he heard his mother call his father "worse than a Balrog". There was the sound of something smashing, the slam of a door, then silence.

Legolas jumped and spun round on his mattress as his door was opened quietly. Thranduil stopped abruptly when he saw that his son was awake before continuing in, shutting the door silently after him.

"I thought you would be asleep," he said quietly.

"How can I sleep?" Legolas said, sitting up. He looked at Thranduil piercingly. "Ada, what is going to happen?"

Thranduil looked at Legolas with eyes that betrayed all the emotions he was feeling: loss, pain, hopelessness… The list went on. "I don't know," he said sincerely. He sat down next to Legolas on the bed.

"I never thought she would do that," Legolas mused to himself. "I guess it would be a little romantic, peasant marrying the queen; it's the type of story I used to read as an elfling." Legolas was going to say more, but stopped at the sight of more tears on Thranduil's face. "I apologize; I shouldn't have said that –"

"No," Thranduil cut him off. He leaned over and hugged his son. "It's fine. I've been thinking that myself. It is just painful hearing it aloud…"

Legolas nodded, snuggling closer to his father's chest, another thing he had not done since he was an elfling. "Ada," he said, "I know you can be a bit… sensitive, and sometimes you are a little too kind, but you have to stand up to her."

Thranduil looked down at the blonde hair he was stroking comfortingly. He had never been told he was _sensitive _before.

"Meaning no disrespect," Legolas said hurriedly, worried he may have hurt his father's feelings, "but people who do that cannot just be forgiven. I do not forgive her, even if she is my naneth."

"Legolas," Thranduil said, with the air of one chastising a child. "You should not speak like that. You are angry. Let it go."

Legolas abruptly pushed himself off Thranduil's chest and looked him straight in the eye. "No, I won't just let it go! She hurt you terribly. She does not want to be with you. This is not just a once-occurring action borne of lust! She has been doing this for a long time now. Why can't you see that?" Legolas was yelling by now, but he didn't really care. Thranduil had to see the truth, or he would hide behind his delusions forever.

Thranduil stared at him for a long, silent moment. The tension in the room had risen to breaking point, with neither elf breaking the silent, unannounced battle of wills. Finally, Thranduil ripped his eyes away from those of his son, stood, and walked out of the door.

In his innermost mind, Legolas knew he should not have been so harsh. But somebody had to tell him! He never thought he would ever hate someone as much as he hated Melda right now. He wanted her out.

X X X X

Herenya walked in the garden, quietly admiring the trees. She was supposed to be attending a council meeting at the moment, but she just didn't want to go, and she figured they could get by without her just this once.

She felt strange. It seemed as though a giant hole had opened in the middle of her head and was slowly sucking her entire being into it. She was so devastated by the way her own naneth had ripped apart the family that her thoughts were hardly coherent anymore, and so she just walked, a mad half smile playing upon her face, belying her inner turmoil. She could not see the trees and flowers she walked past, could not feel the cool, green grass that was still slightly wet from dew under her feet, could not hear the happy voices of baby birds, children that had just been fed by their own naneth.

Nor did she see the figure on the ground until her foot collided with what felt like a knee, and someone gave a grunt of surprise and pain.

"Why are you not in the meeting?" Legolas asked from his position on the ground, leaning against a tree with legs crossed.

Ren blinked, coming out of her dazed state, and sat next to her brother. "Why are you not?" she asked. "I did not feel like facing pompous oliphaunts with too much money and not enough problems."

Legolas smiled slightly. "I feel the same. Ada didn't go either."

Ren raised her eyebrows. "Who is in charge, then? For they surely would have sent someone to look for us if nobody was there. I am sure they don't know what happened."

Legolas looked up suddenly, blue eyes meeting brown. "I don't want her making decisions."

Ren's eyes went wide when she realized what her brother had figured out seconds ago. She grabbed his hand, pulled them both to their feet, and started running.

Legolas followed her, not taking his hand from hers. He didn't know why he had done so many childish things in the past twenty four hours, but family was suddenly very important to him now, and he didn't want to lose Ren's grip.

They ran with all the speed the possessed to the council chambers. Maybe it was partially selfish wanting, as Melda was no doubt an equal to Thranduil in matters of state and diplomacy, but neither child wanted their mother running their country. The trust in the family was gone.

Together, the two children put out a hand each and threw open the ornate chamber doors, coming to a sudden halt under the wrathful stares of many of the councilors.

But no gaze was more wrathful than that of their own naneth, who was standing in her seat, breathing heavily and giving her own elflings a look that promised retribution.

**A/N**: When I first wrote this, I didn't plan for that to happen at all; it just did, and then turned out sounding pretty OK!

Again, I'd love to hear what you think.

I'm going away on Sunday for a couple of weeks, so don't expect anything soon. I'm going back and editing and largely rewriting what I've written, so hopefully will do one chapter by early January.

Please review, and Merry Christmas! Remember, don't drink and drive, and don't buy presents you can't afford to pay off later! I've been hit hard by the financial crisis, and it's going to get really bad after Christmas, I don't want any of you guys to suffer financially just because you're looking for the perfect gift. People don't care quite that much. It's about the love, not the money.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Happy New Year!

X X X X

Melda walked quickly down from her spot at the head of the table to the doorway, where her two children stood. She stopped when she came close to them, and they could see that she was both angry and disappointed, a combination that meant one thing. Yes, she was angry at their blatant flouting of the rules of court. But yes, she loved them, and had had higher expectations. Despite all his anger for the woman who was standing in front of him, Legolas felt the first tendrils of shame creep up his spine.

"What are you doing?" Melda whispered so the nosy councilors behind her could not hear what was being said. "You should know better than to burst into what could be an important meeting unannounced! By all rights, you should have been here before now so you could have been a part of the decisions, but you did not turn up, and by that, waved your rights. Tell me why you deemed it necessary to interrupt half way through a meeting!"

Ren met her gaze unflinchingly, and, not bothering to whisper as her naneth had done, said, "We want to talk to you about a number of things, namely your claim to the throne, your majesty."

The councilors still seated at the table glanced around at each other, whispering furiously. Melda saw this and turned back to her daughter. "Maybe we should discuss this outside," she whispered. She gripped Ren's shoulders and steered her outside, summoning Legolas with her eyes.

Legolas did not follow immediately but turned back to the long table. "This meeting is adjourned," he said to them, then followed his mother and sister outside.

They stopped and sat down on a bench in the gardens. It was a peaceful place, sheltered beneath a large beech tree. The bench had been placed so the one sitting upon it could enjoy the light breeze that tended to come from the west. The three elves sat down upon it, Melda in the middle with her two children on either side of her. She put an arm around each of them, pulling them closer to her. "I understand that this has been a little turbulent for the two of you," she started, "but, you need to understand that both your adar and I love you dearly."

"Is that true?" Legolas muttered. "I know Ada loves me, but you threw me into a wall!"

"And hurting Ada hurts us," said Ren, but unlike Legolas, her tone meant she had no compassion for the woman she once called "nana". "Why did you do that?"

Melda let her hand drop from Ren as though she had been burned. "There are reasons," she said quietly.

"I think we have the right to know," said Legolas.

"Growing up, I loved Traius with all my heart," Melda began, ignoring the scoffing sound from Ren. "I wanted to be with him, no matter how poor he was. But then the prince fell in love with me… and I did not have the heart to say no to an engagement, particularly with both my parents and King Oropher pushing me to marry Thranduil. I liked him well enough, but he didn't make me feel the way Traius did. I knew I could never have the one who held my heart, so I settled for Thranduil."

"You _settled for_?" Ren cried. "He's a far better person than you. And you didn't settle for him, you went behind his back!"

"I do not deny it."

"Only because both Ada and I saw you with him," said Legolas quietly. "How long have you been with him without telling us?"

Melda was quiet for a moment. "Six hundred and seventeen years," she said eventually.

Legolas felt like he had been punched. He took Melda's arm that was still around his shoulders and threw it off. Ren stood up, her face in her hands, and paced for a few seconds before wheeling back to face her mother.

"That brings me back to what I was saying before," she said. "You no longer have claim to the throne. The marriage was void the second you went with Traius, leaving you with no royal title. I am the highest authority here, and I ban you from conducting any further council meetings. If necessary, I will review any decision you have made for the last six hundred and seventeen years. Is that clear?"

Legolas looked from his authoritative sister to his slowly crumbling mother. He could not deny that he felt sad for her, but he knew what had to be done, and he was angry also.

Melda looked shocked. She stared at Ren, seeming to think over whether she was right. At length, she nodded.

"You are also evicted from the private rooms of the royal family of Mirkwood. You have until the end of today to remove any personal items from there, and then you must vacate the property. Where you go, what you do and who you see is up to you. Do you understand?" Melda nodded again, and when she stood up to walk away, Ren continued. "Don't even think about going to Ada to overturn this. I will find out and I can sway him a lot more easily than you can." Melda simply turned and walked away.

"That was mean," said Legolas quietly.

"She should not have shown utter contempt for her marriage vows," said Ren uncaringly, and walked off in the direction of the palace.

Legolas, now left alone, climbed the tree behind him. He sat in its branches, hugging the trunk and thinking, until well after sundown. When he became too tired to stay in the one position any longer, he climbed down and walked back towards his room, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as he went.

X X X X

**A/N**: Seemed like the right place to stop, so that's where it stopped.

Okay, a VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm going to be living out of the country for the next six or so months, so posting might be more difficult, though it is looking less and less likely that you guys will be affected at all. Though a warning just in case.

Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks so much to my reviewers! Love you guys so much, it's the best reward. I wonder if authors get their books published not for the money, but for the reviews…

Oh, and Happy Birthday to Orlando Bloom for Tuesday! I'm hosting a b'day party for him, have to go bake the cake now, bye!

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Permission to grovel for forgiveness? Lol, I am the world's worst hypocrite; I hate when people take too long to update then I went and did it. But I'm back now, on some well earned sick leave  so without further ado, here is the story.

Sorry!

X X X X

The weeks went by slowly and Legolas could not help but notice the lingering lack of his mother. True to Ren's commands, she had moved out of the palace and into a small cottage on the outskirts of Mirkwood with Traius. He had not seen her since.

Come to think about it, he had not seen Ren for about the same amount of time, give or take a few quick sightings in the corridors. Ren had taken to her room a lot of the time, going to such extremes as to have meals sent there so as to avoid her family even further. Legolas had tried knocking on her door a few times to get her to come out, but the response was always the same, always in the negative.

It was just Legolas and Thranduil at mealtimes now. It was also only them who ever presided over the council meetings; only them who had any real contact with the outside world. Legolas could tell, however, that his ada's heart was not in it. He was there strictly for other people, never for himself.

And thus, Legolas felt lonely. He had no contact with his sister or naneth, and what contact he had had with his ada might as well have been conducted with a brick wall. Even the trees seemed to be better formal conversationalists at the moment…

Legolas was still young, and he needed all the help, encouragement and love to grow. His elven spirit was slowly but surely being suppressed, dampened… He knew he could not last too much longer. He felt he would burst. It had been _weeks_. _Weeks. _Weeks in which he had heard nothing from his naneth, nothing from his sister and next to nothing from his ada. He was wise enough to know that Thranduil was sinking into a depression after losing his wife, and he knew he should not be forced to bear all the responsibilities for helping him back out. He could not. Thranduil did not only need his son; he needed his daughter as well.

Legolas swung easily off the tree branch he had been perched on and landed on the ground, perfectly balanced. He set off at a fast walk back towards the interior of the palace, intent upon finding Rem.

X X X X

_Where did I go? I don't know where I am… get me out of here… anywhere, any _way_… just get me out…_

X X X X

The first person Legolas came across was one of the servants who took care of the laundry. Her name was Authiel, and Legolas liked her quite a bit. She always had time for his questions, from the elfling questions of what colour did she think Thranduil's hair would look good dyed as to the student questions of just how exactly _is _learning about smelly edain going to help a prince who may as well have been last in line for the throne. He walked up to her now as she carried a large basket of dirty clothing and sheets.

"Authiel?" he called. "Ren hasn't come out, has she?"

Authiel stopped and turned to face Legolas. "No, princeling, she hasn't," she said softly. "I went in to collect her clothes about an hour ago… she wasn't in the best of moods. I suppose I shoud caution you not to go near her."

Legolas frowned. "She has been avoiding me for a while now," he said. "I wanted to… I wanted to play with her." He didn't think it was a particularly good idea to tell the palace staff about the Royal Family's problems. They had enough of a bad reputation as it was.

"Hm. There's nobody else you can play with?"

"No."

Authiel nodded slowly. "Perhaps it is better if you go and see her after all…" She trailed off, looking through a window. "If you'll excuse me," she said, suddenly all business once more, "I must be getting to work. I shall see you later, Prince Legolas."

Legolas nodded and watched as Authiel walked away, the basket of clothes held securely in front of her.

X X X X

_Why did she have to do it? Does she not love me? Nana…_

X X X X

Legolas stopped outside the door to Ren's chambers. He didn't want to knock – he was angry at her – but neither did he want to simply burst in on her. They respected each others' privacy. It had always been like that, and Legolas would not ruin his relationship with his sister any further than it had already been damaged. He resolved to simply wait, wait until Ren's meal was brought, or something else she may have ordered. Yes. That seemed a good plan.

Legolas did not realize, at that moment, just how much he would come to regret his decision during all of the remaining years of his life.

X X X X

**A/N**: That seemed a good place to stop… not to mention I have to go out atm. Shall try and post more regularly – not promising daily updates but AM promising no more six month waits (unless I die).

Who can guess what shall happen?


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